On Friday August 5, 2016, Daniel Dalton, Evan Seeman and Noel Sterett led a seminar with over 500 members of the American Planning Association, representing land use planners, urban planners and zoning officials, discussing the important topic of “Planning For Religious Land Uses in an Age of Religious Diversity and Lawsuits.” The APA has graciously made the webinar available on its YouTube Channel.
Through this webinar, the three of us reviewed the history of the RLUIPA statute and took a deep dive into the five types of claims that arise under the RLUIPA. In addition, planners asked for, and we provided, real life cases that we have been involved in with respect to the RLUIPA claims for the planners to learn from.
Further, planners asked for specific guidance on how to avoid RLUIPA lawsuits.Those of us representing religious assemblies and communities agreed that the number one thing to do is to provide training to the planning commission, zoning board of appeals and City Councils on how to handle a proposed religious use in a community.
Feel free to contact one of the professionals at Dalton & Tomich PLC to help your community learn more about RLUIPA and if you wish to have training, please contact Dan Dalton to assist you in you planning needs for religious assemblies.
